DANVILLE, Va. – Millions of dollars are being invested in Southside in the form of a new manufacturing center, part of which will be home to the US Navy.
It’s a $28.8 million investment for the new Center for Manufacturing Advancement in Danville.
The CMA is a state-funded project at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.
Governor Glenn Youngkin was in Danville to celebrate the ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
“When we are thinking about the future of our own national security, we have to have these capabilities to make sure that these supply chains are here in the US and that we can protect and advance them and all of that comes together around this particular initiative,” said Youngkin about the new manufacturing facility.
Danville will now be at the forefront of advancing national security with the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
“We are going to bring a Center of Excellence for additive manufacturing in metallics. We are going to need to help drive innovation and technology in our workforce to build the number of submarines and ships that we need to have going forward into the future,” said Program Executive Officer, Rear Admiral Scott Pappano.
To help get people ready to join the workforce, a new regional training center will also be built, which is set to open in 2025. It will offer anywhere from 800 to 1,000 spots annually for people to get hands-on training in the defense industry.
“There has never really been a program designed like this to take someone that walks off the streets that may have never been exposed to welding or machinery or anything and then in four months be able to walk in and get an attractive job with a salary that supports themselves and their families,” said President of IALR, Telly Tucker.
Officials hope to get the rest of the CMA facility up and running in 2024.